From Jim Asher, the world’s leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson:Spring.It’s finally Spring, that time of year deemed by Emmett Lee Dickinson as “March mudness” and E. E. Cummings as “mud luscious.”Spring is also the name of The Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society, and the most recent issue – Fall 2015 (which covers 2015 and 2016) – was actually published at the end of 2016. If you don’t have a copy, be sure to contact the Cummings Society to see if they had additional copies – it’s wonderful!​

Some highlights:

There are multiple articles in honor of Norman Friedman, “the first and finest Cummings scholar, and (with David V. Forrest and Richard S. Kennedy) the founder of Spring and The E. E. Cummings Society.” Info HERE.

An analysis of Cummings “l(a,” one of my all-time favorite poems and one I use often to excite students about poetry. The article, “Falling into Spring: Transcendence, Being, and Ambivalent Typography in ‘l(a’ and 95 Poems,” revealed aspects of the poems I had not been aware of. Fascinating!

And on pages 145 and 146 of the 294-page journal, there are even a few take-offs of Cummings’ poetry which I submitted – one, “the darkside is fine)but Darth,” is below on the right. The Cummings’ poem on which it is based, “dying is fine)but Death,” is below on the left.​

By E. E. Cummings:

dying is fine)but Death

?obabyi

wouldn't like

Death if Deathweregood:for

when(instead of stopping to think)you

begin to feel of it,dying's miraculouswhy?be

cause dying is

perfectly natural;perfectlyputtingit mildly lively(but

Death

is strictlyscientific& artificial &

evil & legal)

we thank theegodalmighty for dying(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death

By Jim Asher:

the darkside is fine)but Darth

?obi wan kanobi

wouldn’t like

Darth if Darthweredecent:for

then(instead of slaughtering the Clones)you

begin to feel the force’s phenomenalwhy?be

cause the darkside is

entirely natural;entirelyputtingit predictably deadly(but

Darth

is severelyvolatile& explosive &

evil & cruel)

we thank theforceubiquitous for the darkside(forgive us,o Luke! the son of Darth

For more information about Spring, the Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society, click HERE.

It's that time of year again -- that time which E. E. Cummings termed "March Mudness." However, for the rest of us, it's "March Madness," and since we've just transitioned from the "Sweet Sixteen" to the "Elite Eight," we thought we'd post another poem about the tournament by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

Dickinson's poem "Not at home to Callers" (below on the left) inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem by the same name (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Not at Home to CallersSays the B-ball Fan –Bracket done in April –Wishing you Good Day –

By Emily Dickinson:

Not at Home to CallersSays the Naked Tree –Jacket due in April –Wishing you Good Day –

Daisy Delphi "D. D." Goings (pictured at the left) was one of the first poets to see the creative capabilities of the typewriter, and her works inspired E. E. Cummings to experiment with form and the arrangement of his poetry. As a result, Goings -- who was an ardent fan of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) -- was inducted into the Poetry Hall of Fame in 1972 (information is HERE -- see the entry dated April 8th).

In honor of Pi Day, we have posted Going's poem "isn’t so small un endingest pi" (below on the left). Her poem inspired E. E. Cummings to write his poem "so isn’t small one littlest why" (below on the right).

By D. D. Goings:

isn’t so small un endingest pi,length into round shall turn all forvast limitless worth either seethere’s more room than three point one four

and while calculated for ties and whyshave divided a million ways:irrational ratio constantly in sizeforever because it always stays

By E. E. Cummings:

so isn’t small one littlest why,it into if shall climb all theblue heaven green earth neither seahere’s more than room for three of me

and only while your sweet eyes closehave disappeared a million whys;but opening if are those eyesevery because is murdered twice